ACT leader David Seymour says the Government is drip-feeding funding announcements rather than providing people in cyclone and flood-affected areas with certainty.
It comes as the Government announced a $1 billion pre-Budget package today, aimed at cyclone and flood recovery.
The package includes $35 million for mental health initiatives in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti, $725 million for transport-related work, such as fixing roads and railways, $117 million to repair, redevelop or relocate 500 schools, and $152.4 million for future flood protection, rural community support, business retention and retraining support.
This afternoon, ACT leader David Seymour said frustrated locals had had to wait months for funding and certainty so they could get on with their lives.
“Three months after Cyclone Gabrielle, the Government has finally announced a partial recovery package, timed to coincide with the Budget rather than the needs of people on the ground.
“The $1 billion announced doesn’t come close to the $9 billion to $14.5 billion Treasury has estimated the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods will cost.
“It appears the Government is going to drip feed funding announcements over months leading up to the election."
He said New Zealanders needed certainty the Government had a plan to fix the $5 to $7.5 billion of damage to publicly-owned infrastructure, so they could "plan their lives with confidence".
Seymour suggested the Government adopt some of ACT's "practical solutions", which came under three principles - "cutting unnecessary projects and reprioritising expenditure to the rebuild, reducing bureaucracy and removing red tape to assist the rebuild, and ensuring a local response takes precedence over central planning and intervention from government departments".
He said ACT proposed policies such as a creating a special economic zone in Hawke's BAy and Tairāwhiti where a number of some regulations didn’t apply, increasing the amount of financing available and extend the time of the exemption to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) to allow people to quickly access finance and removing Resource Management Act "barriers" to rebuilding and repairing with special legislation.
It also proposed enacting a Materials Equivalence Register so there was "ample supply of building materials for the rebuild", streamlining foreign investment by allowing foreign direct investment from democratic OECD countries to skip Overseas Investment Office approval - so businesses needing investment to rebuild could access more capital and replacing council building consent processes with private insurance so that people do not need to wait for council consent if an insurer is prepared to insure the building.
It would also share GST revenue with local government to fund infrastructure development.
“Some of these solutions will bring about immediate relief to affected communities, some of them will help ensure they can build back better and be prepared for future events.
“Recovery is going to be costly, and the Government’s response must be wary of sparking another run of inflation and interest rate rises. New Zealand families can’t afford a repeat of the Covid response where a surge of wasteful spending, funded by borrowing contributed to the cost-of-living crisis.”
Speaking to reporters in Christchurch today, National leader Christopher Luxon said his party supported the Government's investment in infrastructure, but it needed more for growers, farmers, business owners and homeowners.
He said the Government needed to "move quickly" to support those sectors and give people clarity about land use.
On Sunday morning, both Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Finance Minister Grant Robertson indicated the package was not exhaustive and hinted at further funding in the future.
Robertson also said it was conscious people wanted clarity around land use and the prospect of managed retreat but the Government was intent on getting it right.
SHARE ME